


A Honey for My Homie

by Lavendermeadow



Series: High school Thorbruce AU [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Awkward Kissing, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Homecoming, Kissing, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-27 06:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15679977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavendermeadow/pseuds/Lavendermeadow
Summary: Growing up, Loki Odinson was never the one to back away from a challenge so easily. As a junior high school student, the world is his oyster. He is loved by everyone, and there is nothing he can’t do. But one quest remains, and this is a hard one—to find his best friend Bruce Banner a date for the Homecoming dance. Or as he’d like to call it: Operation “A Honey for My Homie.”





	1. Chapter 1

Growing up, Loki Odinson was never the one to back away from a challenge so easily. As a junior high school student, the world is his oyster.   There is nothing he can’t do. But one quest remains. And this is a hard one—t o find his best friend   a date for the Homecoming dance. Or as he’d like to call it: Operation “A Honey for My Homie.”

His problem is, his best friend Bruce Banner is the _exact_ opposite of what he is. While he is cunning, charming, charismatic and sociable with _just_ a hint of malice, Bruce is—Bruce is  socially awkward and avoidant, and although he excels at every single academically given subjects , his social  skills is quite lacking—which makes Loki’s quest _slightly_ harder to accomplish. This   has been in his top ten priority for quite some time, not only because he’s got a penchant for meddling and matchmaking, but also because Bruce is his dear friend who’s never had any luck finding a date, _ever._   shuffling textbooks from his bag to put inside his locker. The bell had _just_ rung and he made no additional effort to pick up the pace whatsoever.

“Are you doing okay, Loki?” a familiar voice called out to him.

“Bruce”  Loki snapped his locker door shut, turned around to the direction of his best friend greeting him. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Loki continued, walking beside him as they strolled through the hallways.

“Yeah— _we_ have somewhere to be, remember? The next period is math” Bruce replied, textbooks in one hand and his glasses in the other.

“ _Right,_ I’m just not fond of math. But anyway, have you thought of who you’re going with to Homecoming?” Loki asked his best friend, who immediately spluttered in disbelief.

“Wha—Loki, I told you _countless_ times, I’m not going!” Bruce raises his eyebrows; much to Loki’s dismay. 

“Oh, come _on_ , I promise you, this year will be different!”

“You said that _last_ year, too” Bruce replied, furrowing his brows in uncertainty. “ _And_ the year before, _and_ the year before”

“Well—I promise you, this year _will_ be different. I’ll bet your star-studded grades  that it will be” Loki puts on his dazzling, enigmatic smile Bruce knows too well to be a trap.

“Yeah, no, I don’t buy that. But let’s just talk about this some other time, we should _really_ be getting to class” Bruce speeds up, leaving Loki a few steps behind. Loki sighed, eventually picking up the pace.

-

It’s 3 o’ clock and the bell finally rang; signifying the end of an 8-hour long torture they all call high school. Students trickle out of the main entrance, while Bruce waits for his best friend’s arrival at the bottom of the stairs to hitch a ride. It’s a regular thing they do; things haven’t been so easy at home with Bruce’s folks, so whenever he can and for as long as he can, he’d make all sorts of excuses not to be home. Loki’s parents aren’t home often, and Loki’s oldest sibling Hela already moved out a long time ago, right after she secured a high profile job at Asgard Enterprises.  So this leaves their cliffside modern-style mansion vacant. The previous owner, the illustrious Howard Stark, turned over the keys to the Odinsons for quite the bargain—and it has been their home since.

Loki pulled up his sleek sports car next to Bruce, rolling down the windows as he unlocks the car doors. “Alright, let’s go. We have a _ton_ of homework to do” Loki muttered, picking out the right tunes to play in the car while Bruce takes the seat next to him. After they’re all set, Loki steered the car back to the road, ready to go.

“We’re almost there” Loki chimed in, breaking the comfortable silence along the way. “ _So_ , why do you think the teachers are giving us a _ton_ of homework? And, not to mention, _Homecoming_ is very near” Loki continued, giving Bruce a sideways glance. The word ‘homecoming’ seems to struck a nerve in Bruce, who  

“Jeez, man, I don’t _know_ … maybe it’s to, _uh, I don’t know_ , prepare us for, you know, _finals_? Which is _much_ more important than homecoming, you know” Bruce groggily replied, leaning his weight to the car door, covering half his face with his right hand.

“Right, finals are _definitely_ important. But you know what else is important? Unwinding. Too much of a good thing _can_ be a bad thing, Bruce” Loki sneers, keeping one hand on the wheel and the other skipping the current song playing from his phone.

“We can unwind when the finals are _over,_ ” Bruce groans, his exasperated voice muffled by the hand covering his face, unable to look at Loki in the eye  

The lane that leads to the Odinsons’ abode becomes clear in the view, giving Bruce a sigh of relief because he doesn’t want to talk about this, _ever_ again. Loki stopped in front of the entrance to his house to let Bruce out while he parks the car. _“Please_ , just stop talking about this,” Bruce groaned. “Look, I get that you mean well, _okay?_ But I’ve made up my mind, I’m not going” he continued, turning around to go inside the house. Loki watched him go with one last sigh before finding a parking spot right next to his brother’s car.

“Oh, joy. Brother’s home.”

-

“Hey, Banner” a booming, raspy voice called out to Bruce. He turned around to see Thor, Loki’s older brother and a senior in their school, casually lounging on the living room couch. “ _Oh_ —uh, hey Thor, didn’t see you there” Bruce awkwardly slides behind the couch, making a beeline for the kitchen counter. “Yeah, football is canceled so I have nothing else to do today, so here I am” Thor replied nonchalantly, channel surfing while sometimes subconsciously trying to swat loose strands of hair off his face, until he remembered he already impulsively chopped off his long dark blonde locks some time ago.

“...Say, Thor—are you going to Homecoming this year… by any chance? After uh, the game, that is” Bruce asked from behind the kitchen counters, hoping Thor wouldn’t turn around to see how flushed his cheeks has gotten just asking this question. _‘ugh, what am I even asking? I wasn’t even planning on going. Jeez Bruce, what’s up with you? You have a silly crush on your best friend’s older brother for almost 3 years and you’ve never even acted on it, so why bother now? Dude, just—just stop’_  

“Ah, I’m not really interested on attending, after the game ends I’m probably going to be a bit sore, so I’m just going to go home and rest. I’ve got a lot on my mind lately” Thor replied, setting the TV remote down next to him, glancing at Bruce over his shoulder. Bruce kind of felt his stomach dropped _. But why should he feel dejected?_ He’s not going anyway.

“Why? Are _you_ going?” Thor asks.

“Uh—of course _not_ , I have better things to worry about than this”

“Okay, then” Thor smiles, “Great minds think alike,” he winked at Bruce, then turned back to the direction of the TV. ‘ _Why did he wink_. _Why did he do that?’_

Bruce stayed behind the kitchen counter, ransacking for some food. After he got a few bags of chips of his liking, he headed straight to Loki’s room, which is not too far from the living room, but  just as spacious. He walked by Thor, still busy watching TV—and Bruce couldn’t help but stare at him, admiring his features and his goddamn _gorgeous_ smile, not a care in the world.

“Hey—where are you going?” Loki entered the living room after parking his car, noticing Bruce fumbling around with bags of chips in hand, mouth still gaping open.

“Oh, I uh—I grabbed some of these from the kitchen, I’m going to your room to work on our homework and group projects” Bruce glanced at Thor one last time, and then leaves.

“Huh,” Loki raises his eyebrows inquisitively, eyes darting between Bruce’s silhouette slowly disappearing from view—and then back at Thor, who’s _way_ too absorbed in his TV-watching to notice whatever the fuck just happened.

“Maybe there _is_ a way I can finish my quest after all”  Loki grinned, scheming up a new plan up his sleeve.

 


	2. Chapter 2

It’s lunch time—the cafeteria is packed with students and cliques sitting in their own self-acclaimed table groups. And Loki, along with Bruce, sat down in the central table, a.k.a the prima donna table for the most popular kids in school. At first, Bruce felt overwhelmed by the intimidating aura of shallow popularity that envelops the table itself. But being friends with Loki was never a walk in the park. Sure, Bruce was unwelcomed at first, but Loki made sure he felt welcomed and accepted, and who else have _the_ kind of power to change the status quo, if not the most popular kid in school? So here we are—Bruce, sitting in the popular kids’ lunch table; gnawing on his sandwich while reading a book right next to Loki, who’s still very busy telling stories of his summer vacation antics to the rest of the table.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Loki asked, shifting his attention momentarily at his best friend’s complacent focus. “Huh?—oh, it’s nothing. I was just… lost in thought, I guess” Bruce answered, absentmindedly rubbing his thumbs in circles at the edges of the yellowing book he was supposedly reading. Loki studies his best friend’s expression for a while, nodding briefly at him as he returns to his storytelling shortly after.

 _‘Lost in thought? Really?’_ Bruce thought to himself. _‘You can do better than that, Bruce. You can just tell him—tell Loki, your own best friend of nearly 3 years, that you have a mega crush on his older brother and you don’t know what to do with it.’_ He turns the pages of the yellowing book back and forth, dazed. _‘of course I can’t tell him that, that would be so awkward… jeez—what am I even trying to do…’_

-

Later in chemistry class, Loki and Bruce partnered up as they always do, and although this is more of Bruce’s specialty than his best friend’s, Loki is always willing to do new things, even if it (sometimes) blew up in his face. Bruce fidgets with his empty test tube for a while, gathering up the courage to talk to his best friend about _certain_ subjects.

“So, uh, you know your brother isn’t going to homecoming, right?” Bruce finally spoke, a bit thrown off by how loud he is, much to his own consternation. He lowered his voice as Loki turned to him, “Do you uh, know _why_ he doesn’t want to go?” Bruce continued, playing it cool; even though his heart is audibly thumping. _Hard._

“And what about it?” Loki said, dusting off his lab coat as he put down some of the test tubes he was holding.

“Nothing, jeez—I mean, I’m just curious; we don’t see Thor often at your house even though he’s—well, your _brother_ ” Bruce said, nervous.

“It’s not really because of homecoming, he’s just _really_ busy with afterschool classes,” Loki answered, “And the reason he’s not going—I think it’s because of the… what did he call it, what was it…? _Oh_ , yeah—the _‘mutual dumping’_ , as he said it,” he continues, air quoting the words ‘mutual dumping’, “that left the homecoming dance _quite_ a bitter impression on my brother, so that’s why he’s trying his best to avoid it altogether. That’s how _I_ see it, at least.”

“Oh, okay then,” Bruce replied, leaning one elbow on the table as he tries his best to hide the disappointment inside. “I guess that’s fair. I hope he feels better about it soon.” He added, looking forlorn.

Loki only needed to study his best friend’s expression for around 5 seconds to understand that, his best friend has a fucking crush on his older brother. He smiles to himself, but stops short when the bell rings, which marks the end of the school day.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. We don’t really have homework for today, anyway” Bruce stands up from his chair, slowly removing his white lab coat to hang.

“See you tomorrow, Bruce.”

-

“Thor, I’m telling you, your grades are just not enough to pass” Mrs. Cho muttered as she shows Thor the results of his previous exams, which are _not_ looking good. “Please, Mrs. Cho, I just—need more time to—” Thor tries to explain, until the chemistry teacher held up a finger to silence him. “Look, Thor, you’re a good kid, but you lack focus. I understand that you’re also in the football team and you’re probably focused on the homecoming game right now,” she continues, “So I’m going to give you another chance. I’m going to give you a remedial exam. _If_ you pass this one, I’ll write you a passing grade, and all is mea culpa”

“Really?” Thor raises his eyebrows, not knowing how to take it. “Really. You have one week to study, and you already know which questions are going to be asked for the exam, so study hard, and your hard work will pay off.” Mrs. Cho answered, waving her hand in the air to dismiss him abruptly. Thor excused himself, leaving the teacher’s office—looking dejected.

“How the hell am I supposed to study things I don’t even understand from the first place—ugh” Thor grumbles on his way out of the school entrance, slinging his varsity jacket across his shoulder.

- 

At home, Thor tries his best to study the subject where so many (including him) have failed. Frustrated at not making any progress, he crumpled up one of the pieces of paper he’s been tirelessly writing on and tossed it behind him.

“Ow”

“Hmm?” Thor swivels around his desk chair, only to see the crumpled up paper lying on the floor right in front of the doorframe where Loki stands.

“Oh—sorry, brother, I didn’t notice you there—did it hit you?”

“Square in the face, brother.” Loki grumbled, picking up the crumpled paper and unfolds it. “Chemistry, huh?” he continued, approaching Thor in his study.

“Yeah—I’m just… studying… for no apparent reason whatsoever. Sorry if I disturbed you”

“You know, brother,” Loki enigmatically smiles, stepping even closer towards Thor, deeper into his messy excuse of a room. Motivational posters and cat posters decorates the walls— _and_ the floors. “ _I_ can help you study chemistry. I am _quite_ fond of it lately”

“Really? You’d _do_ that?” Thor asks, grinning wide—breaking out of the frustration as quick as the words escape his lips.

“I _would_ —but for a price”

“Uh…” Thor sighed. “Deals with you are _always_ weighed in blood. No thank you”

“Maybe so,” Loki grins. “But would you rather have me telling mother and father that you failed chemistry _so_ badly—that Mrs. Cho _had_ to give you a remedial exam next week?”

“Wha—how did you know about that?” Thor asks, puzzled.

“I have my sources.”

“What _more_ could you possibly want from me, brother? You’ve gotten me to strike _five_ deals with you just in the span of the last two weeks!” Thor sinks deeper into his chair, frazzled. “If you need money—you _know_ I have no more, since the previous deal we struck costs me… literally _everything_ ” he sighed.

“Oh, no, brother—not money.” Loki smiles, almost impossible to read.

“You are familiar with my good friend Bruce, right?”

“Banner? As in, your best friend _and_ your personal chauffeur, right? What about him?”

“I’ll let that snide remark slide this time,” Loki quipped. “All I ask of you is to befriend him, and then ask him to go to the homecoming dance with you.”

Thor stops short, standing up to level with his brother. “What did you just say, brother? Y—you _know_ how I feel about the homecoming dance!”

“Maybe so, brother. But Bruce hates it just as much as you do”

“I know _that,_ so why would you even ask me to do that? Neither of us are going!” Thor groaned, planting his palm in his face.

“Would you rather fail your class; or just suffer a small pain in the chest for a brief moment at the dance?”

“Hmph…” Thor grunts, definitely unhappy.

“That’s what I thought” Loki grinned, face smug with glints of victory.

“But I can’t just flat out ask him to the dance—that’d be weird! I barely know Banner”

“Well— _obviously_ , you’re going to have to start befriending him first,” Loki grins. “Nothing is wrong with a little dance alongside a friend; right, brother?”

“…Fine, you have my word. But you _have_ to help me study, the test is next week.”

“It’s a deal, brother.”

They abruptly shake hands, Thor frowning through it as he felt like this might be _the_ bloodiest deal he’s ever struck with Loki yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you like it.
> 
> Just a bit of a psa, from chapter 2 to 7 this work is not beta read so please forgive the errors you may find along the way. 
> 
> I know this is a bit short but please bear with me


	3. Chapter 3

“Hmm—after lunch, we have history, and then… yeah, okay, that should do it” Bruce mumble to himself, rearranging the books in his locker all the while. He snaps the locker door shut shortly after, which is met with another face waiting behind it, much to his surprise.

“Oh Jeez—hey, Thor… you—kinda scared me there for a moment” Bruce bashfully recollects himself, with Thor leaning on the locker right next to him, his expression unreadable.

“Hey Banner,” Thor muttered. “How’s it going?”

“Uh—nothing much, just heading to the cafeteria to eat with Loki…” Bruce mumbled, unsure of what to make of this _very_ sudden interaction with the star athlete.

“Can I join you?” Thor smiles, arms crossed and body still leaning on the closed locker doors.

“ _Oh!_ —sure, I mean,” Bruce looks at his taller companion, barely keeping his cool, trying his best to shrug off the giddiness of his crush talking to him _and_ joining him for lunch. “It—it’s a free country” he continued, laughing dryly. _‘way to go. Smooth.’_

“Wonderful,” Thor grins, joining Bruce as they make their way to the cafeteria.

-

As they approach the lunch table, Loki is seen to be deep in storytelling mode, hardly noticing his best friend and older brother coming. “And so—I told him, _myyeuh it’s me!_ And proceeds to stab him with a fountain pen” Loki continues, cackling with delight. Half the table responds with a good natured laugh, while the _other_ half raises their eyebrows in disbelief.

“I see you’re telling everyone the _wondrous_  tale of when you stabbed me with a fountain pen, brother” Thor takes a seat right next to Bruce, who is now sitting right in the middle of the Odinson brothers. 

“It’s a fan favorite, brother” Loki smiles thinly, which immediately breaks out into a grin once he sees that his older brother is sitting next to Bruce. A little while later, the crowd has died down and there’s only a few people left in the lunch table—leaving the two Odinson brothers and Bruce eating the rest of their food in silence. Unable to take this any longer, Loki broke the silence.

“So, Bruce and I had just completed our Pokedex entry the other day, not too long after finishing the game,” Loki uttered, a smug grin on his face. “What have _you_ been doing with your copy, brother?”

Thor is visibly getting uneasy, slightly shifting his shoulder. “I—uh, _well_ …” he unwillingly answers, “I have been… playing with Rockruff… for three hours… and couldn’t be bothered to continue with the story…”

“But—on the bright side, its affection level is already maxed out!” Thor added, somewhat proud of his sense of achievement.

“Well, the relationship between the trainer and pokemon is _definitely_ important,” Bruce intercepts, “It could be useful in _and_ outside of battle” he continued, adjusting his square-rimmed glasses with one hand.

Thor beams, seemingly one-upping his younger brother. “ _See_ , Loki? Banner gets it, unlike you!” Thor raises his fist for a fist bump, in which Bruce replied with a high five.

“ _Delightful_ ” Loki sarcastically muttered while sipping his tea, smiling to himself as he looked at the both of them interacting.

-

The end of the school day is finally upon them, and as Bruce wandered down the staircase outside of the entrance to wait for Loki; it looks like Loki’s car is already parked on the side of the road.

“Hello, Bruce.” Loki said, smiling thinly in the driver’s seat as he rolled down the car window. “I’m afraid you’ll have to sit in the back today. My band equipment is taking up all the space next to me.” He said, as he leans further back to show Bruce what he meant.

Bruce nodded, absentmindedly opening the back door—only to stop short at the sight of Thor, sitting on the backseat while scrolling on his phone. “Thor—what—why are you here? Uh, aside from the fact that—that you two _live_ in the same house, that is…” Bruce awkwardly loads his stuff into the car, making sure none of it touches or invades Thor’s personal space; even though Loki’s car isn’t big on… _being_ big.

“Got no football today, Banner” Thor replied nonchalantly, eyes still glued on his phone. “Also, my car is being repaired in the workshop right now, so it seems that I’m tagging along with you guys for now.” He continued, briefly glancing at Bruce and smiles. They end up sitting very, _very_ close together. What can you expect from a 2-seater car, anyway?

Bruce looks at Loki, his expression unreadable from the rearview mirror. “ _Right_ , if we’re all set, I’m going to drive us home.” Loki said nonchalantly, stepping on the pedal heading right back to the road.

The ride home feels like what could be called an eternity. Loki’s driving is _usually_ OK, except for today—where he picked routes that has _the_ most speed bumps available, and not to mention swerving a little bit _too_ sharp every time he makes a turn, plunging the ones sitting in the back into a _very_ inconvenienced state. Bruce can feel his heartbeat pounding faster—and _louder_ , every single time their shoulders brush—which is happening once in every half a minute, with the way Loki is driving. _‘Please, please don’t jump out. Please.’_ Bruce thought to himself, making sure his pounding heart stays in place as he subtly clutches his chest with his left hand, while the right periodically brushing with Thor’s toned arm.

“You’re alright?” Thor asked Bruce, noticing his blearing uneasiness.

“Huh—yeah, haha, I just get… car sick... sometimes…” Bruce answered groggily, trying his best not to come in contact with Thor’s skin any further, although every inch of his body is in bliss whenever it happens.

“Alright, then.” Thor smiles briefly, taking out his phone again shortly to get back laughing at cute cat videos.

None of them said a word after—and it stayed that way for another few minutes as Loki eventually ran out of roads with speed bumps and sharp turns. Unsatisfied, Loki tries to get his brother’s attention by glancing at him periodically from the rearview mirror, waiting until Thor catches his eye. When he finally did, Loki subtly moved his eyes at Bruce’s direction, prompting Thor to make a conversation with his best friend. Thor sighs, finally resting his phone back inside his shirt pocket.

“So Banner,” Thor muttered. “About the Pokemon game”

“Yeah?” Bruce responded, still uneasy.

“What do you say if we have a Pokemon battle sometime? I haven’t played in a while and it should be fun, since I _always_ lost to Loki because he’s constantly cheating with the Fake-Outs all the time” Thor said, body shifting to Bruce’s direction, back leaning against the car door.

“For the record—that is _not_ called cheating, it’s your own fault you choose slow, heavy-hitting Pokemon at _every_ given opportunity” Loki chimes in, agitated.

“Sure Thor, that—that’d be great, yeah” Bruce smiles, heart basically fleeting.

“How about later today after I charged my DS?”

“Okay” Bruce smiles then again, in which Thor smiles back to briefly, as they once again return to the previous silence, shoulders still periodically brushing.

-

Arriving at the Odinsons’, Thor immediately makes way to his room upstairs to charge his DS, passing by his mother on the way. Loki and Bruce entered last, with Bruce helping Loki carry some of his band equipments. “Mother? Why are you home so early?” Loki asked, setting down the equipment on the couch as he approaches his mother. “I had nothing left to do at work today, sweetie. And also, what is with that attitude? Aren’t you happy to see your mother?” Frigga jokingly frowns, and Loki sighs, giving his mother a big hug immediately after.

“Hi, Mrs. Odinson, it’s been a while” Bruce said, awkwardly shuffling his feet not too far away from the mother and son.

“Bruce… I told you, just call me Frigga. You are always welcome here, and not to mention Loki is always the happiest when you’re around. You two are such great friends” Frigga said, shaking Bruce’s hand as Loki’s face turns red.

“Mother!—oh my god—you’re embarrassing me…” Loki grumbles, face growing a few shades darker.

“Forgive your mother, sweetheart. I’m just going to grab something to drink and excuse myself… see you kids later” Frigga smiles at Bruce and Loki, drink in her hand as she strides away to lounge at the patio.

“Loki, your mom is always so nice” Bruce sheepishly smiles while setting his things down on the couch.

“Yeah, that’s because you _always_ have nice things to say about her creations” Loki sighed.

“But her outfits _do_ look great…”

“I know” Loki sighed. But smiling, despite himself.

“Hey guys, I’m going to watch TV while my DS is charging, do you want to watch with me?” Thor asks, voice reverberating from the stairwells as he makes his way to the living room couch, where some of Loki’s band equipment sits.

“No, brother, I’d rather be in my room reading books than joining your _mindless_ camaraderie of entertainment” Loki frowns at the thought, but smiles at an idea. “But… I think Bruce here would love to take a break” he continues, practically pushing Bruce to the direction of the couch.

 _“Loki—what are you doing?”_ Bruce whispered, urgency and embarrassment filling his voice.

Bruce finally sat down on the other end of the couch where Thor sits, heart rate quickening every time he glances at Thor. “Well, you guys have fun. I’ll be in my room.” Loki grinned, turning to the direction of his room. This leaves Thor and Bruce alone—in the living room, silent as ever.

“I lied” Thor suddenly spoke.

“Huh?”

“I wasn’t even playing with Rockruff _that_ long” he continues, “The battery just ran out and I got too lazy to charge and having to start it all over again.”

Bruce stifles a laugh, his nerves relaxing slightly. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, I don’t even know what I was supposed to be doing in the game” Thor said, shrugging while occasionally glancing at Bruce’s direction.

“But you still want to battle, right?” Bruce asked to the dark blonde star athlete, unsure.

“Sure, but you have to help me set up the perfect team, so I can _finally_ win against Loki” Thor smiles, the edges of his eyes crinkling.

“You’re on”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you like this one as well; it's going to get longer from here. I will update very soon!


	4. Chapter 4

The autumn wind passes through the open gap of the class’ window, blowing a gentle breeze in Thor’s direction as he goes through the lecture, albeit not really paying any attention to it.  _‘Our shoulders brushed so many times yesterday’_ , he thought to himself, absentmindedly playing with his pen in one hand and leaning his head heavily on the other.  _‘Banner is a nice person, sure—and Loki seems to have claimed him as his BFFL (Best Friend For Life), and I’m happy my brother finally found a true friend among all the snakes he’s encountered in his life before. But why—why do I feel something weird about Banner?’_  he continues clicking his pen, its lead already stained with ink.  _‘These better not be butterflies… those damn butterflies’_

-

The class is finally over; which went by like a dream—far too quickly. Thor makes his way out of the classroom, since there’s only a few minutes remaining he doesn’t really have time dilly dallying. And that’s when he saw his brother and Bruce, chatting by their locker doors, not too far from his but far enough from his earshot. While loading his books into his locker, Thor starts to sneak glances at Bruce’s direction, noticing the few longer curls of his wavy brunette locks that touches the side of his face as he warmly smiles at Loki, talking about god knows what. Thor smiles at the sight—then catches himself and looked away.  _‘Remember, Thor Odinson, remember that this is only a deal you struck with Loki so that he will help you study chemistry! Only that, and nothing more. You do not want another mutual dumping to happen right on the dance floor like the last time!’_  he thought to himself, snapped his locker door shut and left without a backwards glance.

-

At lunchtime, the homecoming committee can be seen at their busiest yet—putting up banners and homecoming-related decals wherever permitted, walls along the hallways and the cafeteria like. Bruce and Loki are seated in the prima donna table as per usual, with Loki telling his audience the usual amusing anecdotes that fades into the background as soon as Thor approached the table.

“This seat taken?” he asked, pointedly making an effort to sit next to Bruce.

“Oh, hey Thor,” Bruce looked up as the older Odinson takes his place.

“So, I  _finally_ cleared my first island trial shortly after you left last night” Thor said, absentmindedly tipping his fork from the tray.

“Really? That’s pretty good. I think we were still kind of far from clearing the trial when I left though,” Bruce said. “Great job.” He smiles, a bit groggy but genuine.

Thor can feel the butterflies in his stomach surging through; though he tries to shrug it off by laughing. “Thanks,  _haha_ ” and fumbled, faking a cough right after to keep his cool.

“You’re still pretty far from the ending though, and although this game doesn’t have all the Pokemon there is to know of, completing the Dex can still be kinda hard to complete. If you want, I can send you links on where to find the ones you haven’t yet?” Bruce asked groggily.

“That’d be great, thanks Banner” Thor smiles, and Bruce smiled back. They looked at each other for a little while, until Thor caught eye contact with Loki sitting beside Bruce, and then he looked away.

“But uh—I don’t think I can continue playing today,” Thor suddenly spoke, shrugging off their previous interaction as if it was nothing. “I have football practice after school, so I’m going to ask Hela to pick me up. You guys can just go home without me today”

Bruce seemed kind of disappointed, but swallows it and nods. Noticing this, Loki can only audibly sigh. “It’s quite alright, brother,” he sighs once again, although much more subtle. “Bruce and I can wait until you wrap up practice today, we can sit in the spare bleachers while you practice.”

“Really, Loki? Is that okay?” Bruce asked, hopeful but still hesitant.

“ _Really_ ,” the younger Odinson answered briefly. “We have nothing to do after school anyway.”

“Wait— _really?_  What about Banner’s parents?” Thor asks, curious.

“Oh, it’s okay—they don’t really care what time I come home anyway, so it’s all good” Bruce answered, his expression solemn.

“I’m sorry Banner, things aren’t going well there?” Thor asks, hoping he isn’t stepping over the line.

“Nah, it’s okay. I just don’t like being home all that often.” Bruce nonchalantly answered, although his expression says that he doesn’t want to talk about it any further. Thor simply nods without asking any further questions, despite his growing curiosity.

-

The football practice is going well, the team has a pretty good play panned out before them for the homecoming game. Thor would occasionally sneak a few glances at his brother and Bruce, to which Loki himself doesn’t really care about. But Bruce would always smile when he noticed Thor glancing, and this somewhat puts Thor’s mind at ease as he smiles back at him and continuing his practice.  _‘These damn butterflies,’_  Thor thinks to himself, shaking his head; despite smiling.

The practice ends at around 7 in the evening, and they are  _starving._  “Brother, I am  _famished_. I think it’s only fair that you treat us all dinner, isn’t it?” Loki said to his brother as he and Bruce approached him on the field.

“Wh—but  _you_  were the one who insisted on waiting!”

“Well, I didn’t think that it would take  _this_ long! Otherwise I would’ve grabbed something to eat before this entire camaraderie.” Loki grumbles, his mood heading south due to the hunger.

“…Fine. Dinner is on me today, but we are  _NOT_  eating anything expensive” Thor huffed, crossing his arms at Loki.

“Delightful.”

“Alright, just let me change real quick, and I’ll see you two in the parking lot” Thor scurries away, slowly walking into a jog.

As Thor disappears from the field, Bruce turns to his best friend inquisitively. “Loki, is that okay with him? Didn’t you already extort his allowance away from him last week?” he asked, both of them still standing in the corner of the football field as the orange sky darkens into grey.

“He’ll be fine. He’s much more resourceful than we gave him credit for, Bruce.  _Plus_ , I’m famished right now, so I don’t care whose money we’re spending.”

Bruce nods, his mind wandering back to the  _certain_ subject he’s been thinking of lately. “Do—do you think Thor would change his mind about not going to homecoming?”

Slyly, Loki tilts his head facing Bruce. “Why do you ask?”

“Nothing, I just—I’m just curious because he’s a popular guy, and—despite the ‘mutual dumping’, didn’t a lot of people already ask him to go with them?”

“ _Asked_  him, yes. But he turned them all down.”

“Really?”

“Really. He’s not a shallow person. My brother might be gross and sweaty most of the time, but he is very old-fashioned when it comes to relationships,” Loki muttered, his lactose intolerance at an all time high from all the cheese he’s going to say. “To most people, homecoming is just a dance. But to him, it’s one of the most important—and  _romantic_  way of showing his affection to someone he cares about. Which is why that ‘mutual dumping’ hurts him  _more_  than it hurts Jane, because when he likes somebody, he likes them  _hard_.”

It might just be the lighting, but Bruce  _swears_  he feels his cheeks burning, visibly growing a few shades darker under the field after that sentiment. “So uh—I guess he won’t be finding that special someone anytime soon, huh?” Bruce asked, slightly tilting his head up to meet his best friend’s eyes.

“You’ll never know,” Loki smiles coyly. “He might be persistent, but not a concrete wall when it comes to accepting new ideals”

“What do you m—” Bruce is puzzled by the sentiment, but stops short when Thor reappears into view. “Alright guys, I’m done. I’ll be the one driving, since I know a place where we can eat  _cheap_ ,” Thor said, making a face at his younger brother.

“Delightful. Now let’s go already.”

-

The diner Thor drove them to is a 50s themed fast food restaurant, with black and white checkered tiles galore; ridiculously retro jukebox playing  _horrible_  catchy pop songs, weird strobe lights emitting oranges and blues; setting up an entirely different realm of an atmosphere inside the diner. The band of friends sat down huddled in a booth, tired and hungry from the practice (and waiting for the one practicing). The waiter left their table as soon as the orders are written, which leaves them waiting for a while.

“This one’s on me, guys. Sorry for making you two wait so long” Thor muttered apologetically, eyes darting between his younger brother and Bruce, but rested his gaze on Bruce the longest.

“Oh, it’s no big deal, Thor,” Bruce replied, softly smiling at the star athlete. Thor smiles back, and it’s electric. Seeing this, Loki almost rolled his eyes—if it weren’t for this exact thing to be what his quest is meant to be.

Not long after, their food arrives, and the (mini) feast is in full swing. Thor noticed the straws and ketchup bottles are missing from their table a little too late, and he was about to stand up to get some, but halts midway because Bruce stood up first. “It’s okay, I’ll go get the straws and ketchup. Be right back, guys” Bruce muttered, leaving in a hurry. This leaves the Odinson brothers seated in their booth, just glancing at one another occasionally.

“So,” Loki chimed in, breaking the ice.

“ _So_  what?”

“I saw the whole thing, brother. Your flirting is  _so_  obvious, even a person ten miles away can see it.”

“I wasn’t  _flirting!_ ” Thor grunts, arms raised defensively. “Look Loki, I’m just doing my part _, alright?_  Don’t forget to help me with chemistry, the exam is only a few days away, brother!”

“Fine. But after the exam is done, you  _still_  have to ask Bruce to go to homecoming next Thursday.”

“Do I  _have_  to ask him to homecoming?” Thor relented, creasing his eyebrows. Loki raises his eyebrows in return.

“We have  _a deal_ , brother.”

“But you  _know_  how I feel about homecoming, Loki!”

“I do, and that’s exactly why I’m asking you to take Bruce for the dance.”

“And  _why_  is that, brother?” Thor asks his brother, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Because you’re still hung up on Jane.”

The sentence echoed through Thor’s ears, and he momentarily stared at his brother in disbelief, until he immediately recomposes himself, laughing it off.

“ _Pssssh_ , Jane? I barely remember her!  _Ha ha ha,_  brother! You are a  _wild_ one!” Thor laughed, shrugging off the prickling needle inside him that kept on stabbing the same place, over and over again.

“If you don’t remember her—then it should be no problem asking Bruce to go with you to the homecoming dance, right?”

Thor huffed and frowned. “I suppose.”

“ _Wonderful._ ” Loki smiles enigmatically, finishing off his waffle fries.

Not long after their talk, Bruce returns to the booth, emerging victorious with straws and ketchup bottles in hand. “Sorry guys, it took a while since the staff is super busy tonight. I tried taking one of the bottles behind the counter, but the lady behind it was super scary so I decided against it”

“It’s alright, Bruce. We were also deep in conversation regarding…  _flaming hazards._ ” Loki grins coyly to his brother, who is caught off guard.

“Right.  _That_.”

“Well, okay then, let’s just continue eating” Bruce sat down at their booth, finishing their meals with lighter conversation topics and small talk near the end.

-

After their dinner, Thor is driving Bruce home—seeing as it’s already too late to be visiting the Odinsons’ residence anyway. They immediately arrived at Bruce’s house, a typical suburban house without much of a personality to it.

“Thanks for the ride home, guys” Bruce stepped outside of the car, clutching additional textbooks in his chest, smiling contently.

“No problem, we had fun today” Thor smiles back, and they gazed at each other for a  _long_ while in silence until Thor (fake) coughed. “ _Uh_ ,  _well_ , we should  _really_  be getting home soon. Thank you for accompanying my brother today, and I hope we can do it again soon.”

“I hope so too, bye guys” Bruce smiles, waving goodbye as the Odinsons’ car disappeared from view.

-

“ _Really?_  Fake coughing?” Loki sneered, sitting shotgun next to the driver.

“Shut up, Loki” Thor pointedly ignores his brother’s jeers as he drives. Despite Loki’s jeers and snide remarks and the deal they made that was weighed in blood—there is a fact that not even Thor himself can deny: how genuine his feelings for Bruce are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thanks for reading and I hope you like it...
> 
> p.s have a great weekend!


	5. Chapter 5

It’s a Sunday morning—the sun is well above the horizon where Bruce is found lying on his bed at home, tossing and turning; his head nestled on the white-cased pillow. _‘This week has been nothing short of magical,’_ he thinks to himself. _‘What are the chances of Thor, THE most popular senior at school, star athlete—not to mention possibly being the personification of heaven on earth itself, suddenly started being all buddy-buddy with him out of nowhere?’_ he isn’t complaining though, he just wondered _why_.

“I better get going. Who knows what Loki’s got planned out for us today” he checks his phone to see no notifications whatsoever. _Huh_. That’s weird. Usually, Saturdays were their off days where they just don’t get in contact and it’s a casual thing, but a Sunday is quite possibly—the _exact_ opposite of that. Loki would always chalk up a plan to bring Bruce out of that drab of a household every Sunday; using whatever the hell kind of excuses he can.

“Bruce, are you still asleep?” a voice yelled from downstairs, ringing in Bruce’s ears rather unpleasantly.

“Nah mom; I’m already up—just getting ready to go!” Bruce replied to his mother, practically tumbling down the bed as he puts on his glasses from the bedside table; grabbing only his phone, its charger, and his wallet. Bruce never liked staying at home. His parents are loud, sometimes drunk; and essentially _terrible_ at handling situations that requires an adult to solve—and Bruce would often be the target of their violent anger if he’s ever seen during the crossfire, which is why he’d rather not be there at all. He puts on a muted brown sweater over his white t-shirt and some brown cargo pants, running downstairs as fast as he can. “Okay, bye mom, I’m going out for a bit with some friends” He said, grabbing a pair of old trainers by the door as he closes it right after—with only his phone and wallet, he’s unsure of where to go, but anywhere is better than here.

“Going somewhere, Banner?” A car pulled up in front of him not long after, windows rolled down—revealing Thor in a maroon wool cardigan, with Loki in the backseat furiously typing on his phone.

“Thor? What are you doing _here?_ ”

“Well, Loki invited me to tag along with you guys for your usual Sunday routine, and I have nothing to do before the big game, so why not?” Thor said, fixing the angle of the rearview mirror. “And—of course, if you don’t mind _me_ coming”

“O—of course, I wouldn’t mind—thanks for driving” Bruce mumbled, he could’ve sworn his cheeks must be burning right now.

“Alright, get in, then” Thor ushers him in, and Bruce nervously walked to the other side of the car, riding shotgun.

“So Loki, what place do you have in mind today?” Bruce asked, turning his head around to face Loki in the backseat.

“Hmm. _Well_. I’m looking at the events taking place today, and it seems that there is a fall festival going on at the park today, _and_ the admission is free. What do you both think of it?” Loki answered with a question, fixing the collar of his navy polo shirt with his free hand.

Bruce and Thor looked at each other for a while, and broke eye contact when Thor noticed Loki staring at them from the rearview mirror.

“Um yeah, that sounds cool, and the free entry is a plus, since I’ve been relying on you to enter paid venues most of the time” Bruce replied, hand fidgeting with the sleeve of his sweater. 

“A fair trade for all the school projects you’ve assisted me with for the entire semester, Bruce” Loki sighed, setting down his phone on his lap. “And I’ve told you _countless_ times, you are my friend. I don’t collect debts from a friend.”

“Wow Loki, you sound so wise all of a sudden,” Thor interjects, a small laugh escaping him.

“I have been known to have that effect.” Loki muttered, sneering at his brother’s jeer.

“Anyway, the park isn’t so far from here, only a 30-minute drive away. Banner, if you’re good to go?”

“Yeah, I’m good—I already brought everything I need with me right now,” Bruce smiles groggily at the star athlete, but he’s very relieved that he doesn’t have to stay at home for another day.

“Right, off we go, then” Thor smiles—then he turns the key, and they are off to the fall festival.

-

The fall festival is in full swing—the venue is jam-packed with people dressed in much warmer attires, fall-themed decorations hanging here and there with the background noise of the festivities becoming a soothing ambient.

“Wonderful. I’m going to find some food and _maybe_ an instagrammable backdrop around here, you guys try to find us a table and I’ll be back in a bit” Loki muttered, already disappearing throughout the crowd not a moment later.

Bruce found a 4-seater picnic table right under a willow tree, a little bit secluded from the other tables; but still able to enjoy the festivities and its charms. Thor takes a seat right across Bruce.

“Have you finished the game?” Bruce asked, fiddling with his phone as he glances up at Thor.

“The Pokemon game, you mean?” Thor asks for further details.

“Yeah, last I heard you managed to get to the last island?”

“Oh—I kind of put that on hold for now. I’m stuck on the part where I have to fight a giant jellyfish,” Thor gave a good natured laugh at the end, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Oh, that sucks”

“It’s alright, Banner. Besides—I think I’ve got something else in mind lately,” Thor tilts his head to the side, meeting Bruce’s eyes across the table—their gazes are soft and welcoming.

“The homecoming game?” Bruce asked, puzzled.

Thor looked away immediately, cheeks flushed. _‘Odinson, what did you just do?’_

“Uh, yeah, _that_ , gotta, you know—watch the calorie intake and whatnot, _right?_ ” he laughed it off, unsure of how Bruce is reading the situation at the moment.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but didn’t you basically wipe the _entire_ table clean from the time the three of us had dinner that time?” Bruce asked, still as puzzled as ever.

Thor cackled in response, “That’s fine! It’s alright to unwind once in a while, isn’t it?” he continued, leaning conspiratorially—getting visibly closer to Bruce; “ _Besides_ , if you don’t directly _look_ at what you’re eating, the body won’t know how much calories you ate”

Bruce couldn’t help stifling a laugh. “That’s silly,” he continues, leaning closer to Thor all the while. “That sounds hard to believe”

“Well, it’s the truth” Thor jokingly shrugs, only to notice the closeness between them and how none of them pulled away; as if all the forces of the universe is pushing them to get closer and closer to each other…

Thor presses his lips softly against Bruce’s, much to his surprise, but he immediately returns the kiss; pressing back slightly harder. Thor’s hands are slowly cupping Bruce’s cheeks as he plants smaller kisses and pecks on his lips, each one feeling better than before—and once they pulled away from the kiss, they were _breathless._

“Wh—” Bruce slowly opens his eyes, still reeling from the sudden but fervent barrage of kisses. “What was _that,_ Thor?” he fumbles with his glasses, now in a disarray on his face thanks to the kisses. 

“I, I don’t _know_ —I’m sorry, Banner, I—” Thor is just as shocked, face flushed dizzy as he tries to regain his composure.

“It’s—it’s okay, Thor… I was just… not expecting _that_ … of all people… _you_ —”

“I’m sorry Banner, I don’t know what came over me, I just…” Thor abruptly got up from his part of the table, moving to Bruce’s side of the table to try and explain himself. He sat down next to Bruce, trying his best to recompose himself. “Look Banner, these past few weeks, hanging out with you—”

Thor’s explanation is cut short, as Bruce immediately wraps his arms around Thor’s neck, pressing another kiss against Thor’s trembling lips. Thor closes his eyes, surrendering to the fervent kisses, hands roaming around the small of Bruce’s back as he kisses him back just as hard, just as much; and just as fervent—under the shades of the willow tree.

“That—that was…” Thor slowly pulls himself away from the kiss, his voice ragged and his face flushed.

 _“Intense?”_ Bruce muttered, face just as red and cheeks flushed in all different shades of red.

“That’s _one_ way of putting it” Thor cackled, still breathless; covering half his face with one hand and the other leaning on the table for support. “Look, Banner, I—”

“Call me Bruce”

“Huh?”

“We just _kissed_ , Thor. You can just drop the formalities by now” Bruce sheepishly grins, cheeks still burning.

“Alright, Bruce” Thor couldn’t help but bashfully smile at the sentiment, and the way he called Bruce’s name and how it echoes in the air—everything feels right, everything feels just in time.

“Took you both long enough” Loki approached the table not long after, setting down boxes of festival food on the table. “I was getting tired of your subtly coy way of flirting and _terrible_ pickup lines,” he plopped down on the chair across the both of them.

“Good to see you too, brother” Thor grinned, not really paying his younger brother any attention because all he wants to look at right now is Bruce—but Bruce’s eyes kept on darting between the Odinson brothers, hesitant.

“So uh—this isn’t gonna make things awkward or anything, right…?” Bruce said hesitantly, although has made absolutely no effort to distance himself from Thor as they are now sitting very, _very_ close to each other.

“ _Please_ ,” Loki waved his hand in the air dismissively. “If I had a dollar for _every_ time I had to look at the two of you displaying this abstract and vague form of public display of affection, I would’ve been richer than father by now”

Throughout the rest of the festivities, Thor and Bruce walks hand in hand, sometimes exchanging soft glances, some other time awkwardly trying to deliver a pickup line—which _always_ fails and ends terribly embarrassing for both of them. None of them were sure on how to take _this_ —this relationship that had suddenly blossomed through the crack of a pavement out of nowhere; but it just feels right. And none of them disagree to that sentiment.

-

At the end of the festival, Loki decided to drive them home—Thor is fast asleep from the exhaustion, and while Bruce wanted to take shotgun to keep Loki company, the younger Odinson refused. They sat in comfortable silence in the car for a while.

“So, _finally_ , huh?” Loki chimes in absentmindedly, only paying half of an attention to his peer.

“What do you _mean_ ‘finally’?”

“Come on Bruce, you’re dense, but _not_ stupid. I have been noticing your crush on my brother for _ages_ ”

“H—how did you…?”

“Oh, come _on_. Reading you is like reading a giant billboard with a 14,000pt-sized font on it, and _all_ the letters are lit up in neon. I remembered the _very_ first time we met—me and my brother had _just_ transferred here around 4 years ago, and the moment we walked into the admission office, you literally _stopped_ in your tracks to take a long _and_ hard gander at my brother”

“Th—that’s not true!” Bruce raises his arms defensively, but unable to stop a smile from curling up the corners of his lips.

“It was like—what do people call it back in the day? Ah, _yes_ —love at first sight,” Loki jeers as he kept his eyes on the road.

“It’s not like that!” Bruce covers his face, cheeks burning but unable to keep himself from smiling.

“Then, pray tell, what _is_ it like, then?”

“ _Man_ , I don’t _know_ , it just; earlier today, it just _happened_ , okay? I don’t know what to make of it yet—sure, I _used_ to have a crush on your brother here, but—”

“Oh? So you _do_ admit having a crush on my brother?” Loki smirks, though Bruce couldn’t see it, he’s sure his best friend is making _the_ face.

“That’s not what I—oh, _forget it_ ,” Bruce throws his hands in defeat. “But let’s just not make a big deal out of this, okay?”

“If that is what you wish”

“It _is_ ”

Loki glances at his best friend from the rearview mirror, then at his brother’s sleeping face. “So, since this is all clear and out in the open _now_ , how do you feel about homecoming?”

Bruce is quiet for a while, pondering. “I’m… I’m not sure”

“Okay,” Loki audibly sighs. “If _Thor_ were the one to ask you, _will_ you go?”

Bruce felt his cheeks burn yet again. “As _if_ ,” he said. “Thor already said he’s not going, so I don’t see why I should, too”

“Okay… _if_ Thor is going and _if_ he asks you to go, _will_ you go with him?”

“…Maybe…”

And that's all Loki needed to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading and have a great week, and I had fun writing this chapter--I hope you enjoyed reading it as well :)


	6. Chapter 6

“Last Sunday was amazing,” Bruce mumbles to himself on a fine Thursday evening he spent at home, just a few days after the events of the Fall Festival. _‘I couldn’t bring myself to stop thinking about it. The way we hold hands, the way he laughed, the way he looks—the way we kissed… I couldn’t stop thinking about—about him,’_ Bruce thought to himself, clicking and flicking the ballpoint pen he’s been holding as he sat on a wooden chair behind the computer desk, trying to make sense of the biology homework he’s been absentmindedly doing.

To think that his longtime crush—who’s none other than his best friend’s older brother, whom he admired so much from afar for _so_ long would actually take notice of him; and even _kissed_ him? This all seemed _too_ good to be true.

Bruce sighs, not really making any progress on the homework front. He closes the book and plops right onto the bed, checking his social media on his phone thereafter. His parents aren’t home for the day due to their jobs, so he gets to have the rest of day spent in tranquility.

“Let’s see… Thor’s social media…” Bruce opened Thor’s instagram, smiling as he sees pictures of his crush posing here and there with backgrounds of places he already knew of, and the simpleton of a caption he always writes. Thor’s latest post is a picture of a pumpkin pie—one of the abundant amount of delicacies they ate at the Fall Festival last Sunday, captioned with only a single pumpkin emoji. Bruce smiles at the simplicity, but a little forlorn after seeing that there is no evidence of their time together throughout the festival. Well, he can’t expect too much from that, anyway. Thor is a star quarterback, and what would people think if they found out that _the_ most popular star quarterback in school is seeing _the_ school’s most unpopular nerdy kid? Bruce sighs at the thought, not really thinking too much into it for now. He sets his phone down on the desk as he stands up, opening his bedroom window that leads out to the roof.

Climbing out the window, Bruce sat down on the roof tiles, overlooking the stars sprinkling down on the evening sky.

“Homecoming, huh” he mumbles to himself, sitting with his hands on his knees; looking up to the sky. “Who am I _kidding?_ I kept on saying I’m not going—told Loki I’m not going because I’m too _busy_ for things like that,” he continued, sighing. “I’m a _terrible_ liar.”

 _‘Of course I want to go. I really do. I just don’t want to go because I know; that the guy I really want to go with would never ask me in a million years,’_ he thinks to himself, drawing out a long sigh, eyes still glued on the stars in the sky. _‘But now that the Fall Festival—the kiss happened… maybe—maybe he’ll change his mind?’_

His contemplating will have to resume some other time, as a raspy, _booming_ voice called out to him from down on the streets.

“Bruce! Hey Bruce!” Thor called out from the streets, cupping his hands on his mouth to amplify the volume of his already loud voice.

“Thor? What—what are you doing _here_?” Bruce peered down to the street to see Thor in his casual grey sweater and black cargo pants, clearly not dressed to impress.

“I have something to show you,” Thor speaks into his hand-made megaphone, waving his hands to Bruce invitingly after. “Can you please come down here?”

“O—Okay, I’ll be right down! Hold on a sec,” Bruce hurryingly retreats inside, tumbling down the stairs in his flight of fancy.

“Okay… what’s going on?” Bruce pants, arriving outside of his door after a vicious battle with the toppling coat hanger on his way out.

“Well,” Thor excitedly smiles, though trying his best to hide the giddiness in his face. “Stay here, I’ll be right back” he holds up a finger, scurrying back into his car that’s parked not too far from Bruce’s house, and returns shortly after with a bouquet of gardenias and yellow acacias in hand.

“Thor—what is this?” Bruce asks, cheeks flushing but unsure what to make of it. Thor handed the bouquet over to him, to which Bruce accepts nervously.

Thor takes a deep breath, his cheeks just as flushed and his face giddy. “Bruce… will you go to the homecoming dance with me?”

“I…” Bruce’s eyes widened, unable to process what just happened. This is like a dream, far too surreal; but he’s also very, _very_ happy that he could cry. “Yes—yes! I will— _oof!_ ” Bruce’s answer is cut short, as the star athlete breaks out into a grin and hugged Bruce shortly after, hoisting him in the air for a brief moment—their foreheads touching when Thor sets him down, although their arms are still wrapped together.

“I’m so happy you said yes,” Thor grinned, the edges of his eyes crinkling in delight. “But a bouquet isn’t _all_ I’ve got for you today” he continued.

“Huh?” Bruce raises his eyebrows, still reeling from the happiness he’s feeling at the moment.

“Look up,” Thor whispered, prompting Bruce to gaze up at the night sky. And when he did—explosions of color _bursts_ into the night sky, fireworks setting off colors from purple to bright yellow one at a time. Bruce is taken aback; eyes gleaming and glistening with the reflection of the barrage of colors in the sky as he turns to Thor.

“You planned all this?” he asks the star athlete, their arms still wrapped together.

“Yes—I _might_ have to pull a few strings, but seeing your face makes it all worth it” Thor grinned, and he can feel the electric intensity pulling their faces closer and _closer_ —until Bruce presses his lips against Thor’s, wrapping his arms around Thor’s neck as he tiptoes to get there. Thor returns the kiss immediately—slightly tilting his head to wrap Bruce even deeper into the embrace, kissing him frantically and fervently with the intensity of the sun.

“Th— _that_ ;” Bruce gasped, reluctantly pulling apart from the kiss, “—was amazing. _Thank you_ ” he continued, closing his eyes for a split second before Thor presses their foreheads together.

“What for? I think you’ve made _me_ the happiest here today,” Thor whispered, foreheads still touching and arms still wrapped, Bruce’s free arm holding the bouquet tight.

“You have _no_ idea”

-

Friday morning came a little sooner than expected, as homecoming is taking place _tomorrow._ The school is jam packed with students preparing their own versions of homecoming proposals left and right, too busy with their own situations to worry about anything else at the moment. Loki walks along the busy hallways, taking in the homecoming hype as far as the eye can see. He audibly sighs, unsure of where to take his planning next because his brother hasn’t asked Bruce to go to homecoming yet. At least that’s what he thought—until he saw his brother and Bruce walking hand in hand, as close as they can get, ignoring the world around them. Loki grins, approaching the two.

“You two look cozy” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

“You _wouldn’t_ believe it Loki, but—Thor just asked me to go to homecoming with him last night!” Bruce beams, stars practically glistening in his eyes as Thor looks at him fondly, arms still linked.

“Wonderful,” Loki grinned, unable to contain his giddiness. “You don’t need the deal to do it after all”

“Huh? What deal are you talking ab—” Bruce asks, met short as Loki catches himself, shock in his face as the realization that he just spoiled a major bombshell dawned on him.

“It’s nothing, Bruce—don’t worry about it. Now—if you’ll excuse me,” Loki scurries away, fumbling ungracefully as he passes by his brother without any means of explaining.

Bruce turns to face Thor. “What does he mean by ‘deal’?” but the star athlete tries to avoid eye contact with him. “Thor?” he asks once more.

“Listen—Bruce, it’s not what you think, but I haven’t been completely honest with you,” Thor sighs, his expression suddenly unreadable.

“About what?”

“It’s… look, I’d love to explain it all to you, but now isn’t the best time. Meet me in the science lab after the fifth period, it’s right after my chemistry class and the lab should be free for a few hours,” Thor shifts uncomfortably, trying his best to keep his cool.

“But what is this about?”

“I’ll explain later,” Thor whispered, “But will you please be there?”

“… Okay. I’ll see you there.” Bruce sighs, defeated.

“Wonderful,” Thor ruefully smiles, kisses Bruce lightly in the forehead before going in the opposite direction; leaving Bruce bewildered.

-

“Earth to Thor,” a voice called out, breaking Thor out of his forlorn contemplation.

“Huh?”

“Earth to Thor—have you even been _listening_? I called your name at least _five_ times already!” said Tony, Thor’s classmate— _and_ his seatmate for the chemistry class.

“Sorry Stark, I’ve been uh… thinking about a lot of _things_ lately,” Thor replied absentmindedly, thoughts still full of his new homecoming situation.

“ _Uh-huh_ … right. Is it possibly homecoming related, by any chance?” Tony asked, putting several test tubes back to their appropriate slots.

“I guess it is,” Thor shrugs, still somewhat not putting his whole attention to this conversation. “I guess—I’m just trying to gather the courage to tell someone the truth”

“Oh, yeah? A _love_ -confession level of truth, perhaps?” Tony asked, slightly teasing the star athlete.

“Nope,” Thor answered bluntly, “But it’s just as hard”

“Well, is it _at least_ the right thing to do?”

“I _suppose_ ,” Thor said, unsure.

“Then it’s worth gathering all the courage for, isn’t it?” Tony nonchalantly pats him in the back as the bell rings, ending the period—starting the intervention ahead.

The seniors trickle out of the science lab after a while, leaving Thor with his own train of thoughts. _‘It’s worth it, Odinson. Telling Bruce the truth is worth it—he doesn’t deserve to be lied to, he deserves the truth. It’s the right thing to do,’_ he thinks to himself, braving himself up for whatever comes next.

Not a moment too soon, Bruce entered the science lab, bringing only himself and a curious-and-concerned expression on his face.

“Okay, will you tell me what’s going on _now?_ ” Bruce asks imploringly, approaching Thor standing near the window at the back of the science lab.

“Alright, Bruce,” Thor takes a deep breath, “The truth is—that deal Loki is talking about… it’s what I struck with Loki”

“ _Okay_ … I mean… almost _everyone_ at school has made a deal with Loki at some point, and it almost always ends up well…?” Bruce said, eyes fixated on the expression changes the star athlete makes. 

“That’s a fair point, but not what I meant” Thor sighs, drawing another deep breath. “Loki—he… he found out my chemistry grade wasn’t up to snuff and that I got a remedial exam coming up, so he offered to help me study it”

“Well, that’s great, _right_?”

“Yes, _except_ that— _every_ deal made with Loki has a price. And the price for this one is that—that in exchange for helping me, he wanted me to befriend you and take you to go to the homecoming dance with me” Thor replies, face contorted deep in regret as he watches Bruce’s puzzled and concerned face shifts into that of disappointment.

“Oh,” Bruce muttered low. “So… the _whole_ time—the _whole_ thing…? That was _all_ part of the deal?” he continues, voice cracking. “The festival, the _kiss_ —the fireworks… were these also part of the deal?”

“I’m _really_ sorry, Bruce—but please, _please_ understand—” Bruce tries to turn away, but Thor immediately catches his arm, trying to level with him pleadingly. “ _Please_ understand that my feelings for you were real. They are _all_ real. And that’s—that’s part of why I’m telling you the truth; you don’t deserve to be lied to. I am a _horrible_ person for never actually taking the time to befriend you until my brother forced me to, but once I get to know you… I realized how wonderful of a person you are—and how important you’ve become to me in such a short time”

Bruce is quiet for a while, eyes never leaving Thor’s as he studies his expression for a while—and sighs. “Thor—oh _jeez_ , I… this is kind of like a slap in the face, you know?” he said, frowning and clearly upset by the sudden revelation. Thor nods understandingly, but he doesn’t let go of Bruce’s arm. “I mean—I can _kind of_ understand where Loki’s coming from, he was always trying to hook me up with someone for as long as I can remember; and as upset as I am, is it stupid and hopeful of me to actually… _believe_ you?” he looked at the star athlete briefly before looking down at the floor, dejected—though their arms are still linked as none of them wants to let go.

“Believe me, Bruce,” Thor pleads. “At first, it _might_ be Loki forcing me to talk to you. But everything after that—I have _absolutely_ no control of how I feel when I’m with you, and that’s the truth. Will you forgive me, and maybe—quite possibly, give me another chance?” he continues, face deep in regret and anguish. “I completely understand if you don’t want to see me ever again either, but just know that I care a lot about you, and that wouldn’t change”

“Thor—you’re so dramatic, _jeez_ … I…” Bruce sighs, his expression softens after a while, giving Thor a weak smile. “It’s okay, Thor. I forgive you. It’s also kind of hard being angry at you for _too_ long” he continued, shaking his head.

Thor couldn’t help but break into a grin. “Really? You’ll give me another chance?”

“Yeah— _but_ , you know, you don’t have to ask Loki with your studies, I can also help you for free” Bruce smiles, still reluctant to let go of his arm.

“Oh, it’s alright, Bruce—I passed the exam yesterday, actually” Thor grins, wrapping Bruce into a _huge_ hug. “But I _will_ ask you the next time I flunked, thank you for the offer” he continues, hugging Bruce even tighter.

“— _Oof_ , well, _almost_ for free” Bruce coyly smiles, face only inches apart from the star athlete’s.

“What—you wouldn’t ask for something _huge_ in return like Loki, would you?” Thor asks, Bruce still in his embrace although he gave him some space to breathe.

“Well, _maybe,_ if you can treat me dinner from time to time,” Bruce sheepishly grins, planting a kiss on Thor’s right cheek, “And _also_ kisses here and there,” he plants another kiss on Thor’s other cheek, “—I think that’ll be enough” then he flourished with a final quick kiss on the lips, smiling coyly.

“You have my word,” Thor smiles, kissing Bruce back on the lips briefly, but stopped short to continue. “ _But_ , that dinner might have to get a rain check—because I still won’t have any allowance until the next month; thanks to Loki”

-

The big night has finally arrived. It’s only a few hours away before the big game, and another few hours away from the homecoming dance. The Odinsons are at home getting ready for the big game, although the younger lad doesn’t care too much about sports, which clearly shows from the way he casually brushes his eyebrows up with a spoolie facing the bathroom’s vanity mirror.

“Loki, aren’t you going to watch the game?” Thor yelled from the living room to his younger brother.

Loki only rolled his eyes in response. “I have _told_ you brother, although I find these games _quite_ barbaric, I will be watching you play. I’m just priming my face before putting on the foundation later”

“ _Right_ ,” Thor answered, unsure of what his brother is talking about. “I’m not sure what you meant by the _whole_ thing you just said, but I believe you” he smiles to himself dryly, trying to shake off the pre-game jitters at the living room couch. “Hey—do you think we should pick up Bruce?”

“Bruce is going to be here soon, brother. _Relax_.” Loki rolled his eyes yet again, now putting on some primer on his eyelids.

“ _Right_ , I know that” Thor scoffs, but unable to shake off the jitters. He turns the TV on while waiting for his brother to finish. “…You know, Loki,” Thor suddenly called.

“What?” Loki yelled back to his brother, dusting off makeup residue from his giant fluff brush.

“Hang on, someone’s at the door. I’ll go get it” Thor got up from the couch to open the door, prior to the doorbell ringing.

“Oh?” Thor asks, bemused. “What are _you_ doing here?” he added, not expecting to see this person at their doorstep _at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The big finale is coming up next! :0
> 
> That was longer than I expected, but I do hope you enjoy it :)


	7. Chapter 7

“Oh?” Thor asks, bemused. “What are _you_ doing here?” he added, not expecting to see this person at their doorstep _at all._

“I suppose you weren’t expecting _me_ of all people today,” said Stephen Strange, a senior—and one of Thor’s classmates; already dressed to the nines in an expensive-looking navy suit with muted grey shirt under it, standing by the doorframe. “But I have done some thinking, and I’m ready to give you my answer.”

“Uh, okay, actually Strange, why don’t you just come inside and take a seat? I’m guessing you’re talking about Loki…?” Thor ushered his classmate into the living room, blocking the autumn wind from entering the house.

“Oh, right. _Yes_ , I was referring to your brother, sorry about that. Where _is_ he, by the way?” Stephen asks, sitting down on one of the smaller couches in the living room.

“Alright, hang on—let me go get him,” Thor replied, heading to the bathroom.

“So Loki, Strange is here… Do you have some kind of a deal that you struck with him or something? He’s on our couch right now,” he asks his younger brother, currently busy with the blotting paper.

“No brother, I did _not_ strike any kind of deal with him. I simply asked him to go to the dance with me,” Loki replied nonchalantly, crumpling up the used blotting paper to toss away.

“You did _what_? With _Strange_? _Why_? You barely know each other!” Thor asks, furrowing his brows in confusion.

Loki sighs, retracting his attention from the mirror to turn to his brother. “You see, brother—I was _so_ preoccupied with matchmaking you and Bruce for the _entire_ two weeks, that I had barely gotten the time to pay attention to who I’m going with, and by the time I entered the field, _all_ the cards are fold,” the younger Odinson stops short to fan his face, helping the primer in his face dry faster. “ _Except_ for Stephen Strange.”

“So… you asked him because… there’s nobody _left_ to ask…?”

“Yes, _that_ —and, both Stephen and I have a reputation to upkeep. I came up to him yesterday afternoon with a proposition; rather than going alone without a date, why not come to the dance with _me_? After all, we are both _the_ most sought-after, _highly_ eligible bachelors—”

“Uh Loki, you’re only _16_ …”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Loki interjects, agitated by his brother’s needless remarks. “So, I asked him to come with me to the dance _and_ to upkeep our top dollar image, and I guess he accepted it, because there he is now, sitting on our living room couch.”

“Loki, that is _hardly_ a reason to ask someone to go to the homecoming dance with you!” Thor grumbled, in a disbelief over his brother’s antics.

“Not _all_ of us are hopeless romantics, brother”

“You were never the one for sentiment, huh?” Thor sighs, defeated.

“Easier to let them burn” Loki enigmatically smiles, walking pass his brother out of the bathroom.

“ _So_ , Stephen, here you are now. Thank you for accepting my proposition” Loki approached Stephen on the couch, hands behind his back.

“I have to say—you’ve made a _compelling_ case, and I suppose a dance couldn’t hurt.” Stephen muttered, nodding at the two brothers.

“Wonderful. Now let’s get to the game, we need to drive my brother here to get ready with his teammates.” Loki gives a thin smile, approaching the nearest cabinet to find the car keys.

“ _Wait_ , Bruce isn’t here yet—we have to wait for hi—” Thor grunted, and as he said that—the doorbell rang again, this time being Bruce, still in his casual attire.

“Hi, Bruce” Thor opened the door for his date, smiling fondly.

“Hey, Thor” Bruce smiles back, just as soft and fond.

“Must you two _always_ do this?” Loki visibly gags, slightly frowning at this not-so-subtle public display of affection.

“Loki, you tried _so_ hard to matchmake me and Thor—and when the ‘ _deal’_ went as planned, why are you complaining at the result?” Bruce asked coyly, catching Loki off guard.

“What—how did you kn—”

“I told him _everything_ yesterday, brother” Thor interjects, a small mischievous smile escaping his lips.

“So, you _knew_ —”

“Yeah… and I gotta hand it to you Loki, you are one _hell_ of a negotiator,” Bruce smiles coyly at his best friend, still standing at the doorframe. “But _maybe_ , let’s not keep secrets from your best friend the next time you want to do something like this again.” He continued, winking briefly before heading for the Odinsons’ parking lot.

Loki is found taken aback, but the surge of relief washing over him as Bruce isn’t angry at him at all makes it worth it. He catches himself and regained his composure, glancing at Stephen who pretends not to hear a thing. “Well, alright then,” He clasped his hands together, “Let’s get to the game.”

-

As they arrived, the school is full of students; some already dressed for the big dance while some are still in their casual attires. The 4 of them makes their way down the hallways, still dressed in their casual attire except for Stephen.

“Right, I have to go to the locker room, the big game is starting in less than half an hour,” Thor muttered, visibly separating himself from the group to head out the opposite direction, but stops for a moment to turn to Bruce. “You’re going to watch the game, right?” he asks, for reassurance.

“With bells on.” Bruce smiles, and that’s all Thor needed. He immediately jogged to the locker room.

“Let’s find our seats now, we don’t want to be left out in the cold,” Loki uttered, but Stephen isn’t following suit.

“Actually Odinson, I think this is where we have to temporarily part ways,”

“Oh?”

“I have to check in with my study group for one last look at our science project before the game starts. Save me a seat if you can” Stephen then left without a backwards glance.

“You’re okay with that, Loki?” Bruce asked his best friend, the two of them being the only ones left of the group.

“It’s alright, Bruce. Our appearance together is meant to be completely political anyway,” Loki answered, unbothered. “But he’s right, we do need to get going if we are to save him a seat.”

-

The football field and the rowdy crowd are going well hand in hand, as the seats prior to the start of the game are filling up quickly within minutes. Loki and Bruce managed to snag a seat for three people not too far from the field—but not too close as well, being the perfect viewing distance. The game soon begins as the home team players entered the field. The crowd goes wild—Thor in his protective gear is subtly scanning the crowd for signs of Bruce, and when Bruce waved at him and cheered; he knows everything is going to be alright.

The game ends nearly an hour after, with the home team winning their 10th homecoming victory, ten years in a row. _Another easy win for the team_. Thor, as per usual, is the star quarterback who played a big part winning the game. And although he was always the star, he seems to shine a little brighter than usual. The crowd cheers, chanting the team’s name, giving the team players a standing ovation; Bruce and Loki being the loudest participant of the cheer.

“Alright kids, hit the showers. Good game today” coach Hill beams, ushering the team players out of the field. Bruce, Loki and Stephen makes their way down to the field where Thor is still seated on the bleacher, overseeing the aftermath of the game with a content smile.

“Great game today, Thor” Bruce beamed with pride.

“Thank you Bruce, I’m glad you stayed and watched” Thor replied, grinning from ear to ear. Exhausted and sweaty—but _really_ elated.

“Wonderful. It was another easy win for the school with you on the team, but nonetheless— _congratulations_ , brother” Loki smiles briefly at his brother.

“It was a great show. I don’t even like sports—but this is a great display of sportsmanship, Odinson. Well played.” Stephen nods to Thor respectfully, who then takes it all in and breaks into a huge grin.

“Thank you guys, now let me hit the showers real quick—you guys can just go home without me, I’ll catch a ride with Hela” Thor nods one last time at the group of (unlikely) friends, and jogged out of the field.

“I suppose this is time for us to go back and change into our fancy suits, Bruce” Loki turned to his best friend, in which he nodded in return while gathering his belongings.

“I’ll drive you back home,” said Stephen. “You can just tell your brother he can drive your car. Consider it one of the many perks of going to the dance with me tonight” he continued, sporting his signature side smirk.

“Aren’t you a charmer” Loki grinned, almost genuine. The three of them immediately makes their way to the parking lot.

-

“Which bowtie do you think goes with my outfit, Loki?” Bruce asks for his best friend’s expertise, contemplating between a plum and a green bowtie in front of the Odinsons’ giant bathroom mirror.

“Well, _personally_ , I like the purple one,” Loki muttered, lightly adding adequate amount of bronzer to his cheekbones.  “But I know you’ve made up your mind from the beginning, Bruce.”

Bruce sighs. “Yeah—I guess you’re right, I’m still really partial to the purple bowtie” he sighs, finally deciding on the purple bowtie to go with his plum-colored blazer as he slung it under the collar of his white blouse.

“That’s what you said _every_ year,” Loki grunts, finally spraying his face with a setting spray to set the look. “And you _always_ go with purple.”

“I guess I do, _huh?_ I mean, I never actually paid attention to what I wear to these dances every year, _but_ —” Bruce muttered, stopping midsentence when he caught Loki’s reflection staring at him from the mirror. “But now, I don’t think I can just randomly tie this bowtie to a mismatched outfit if I’m going to try to impress Thor” he continues, blushing slightly.

“Trust me, Bruce. As dense as my brother is when it comes to black tie dress codes, he will be stunned with your chosen outfit tonight.”

“You think so?” Bruce asks sheepishly, making final adjustments to his bowtie.

“I _know_ so, Bruce.” Loki reassures his best friend, also making some final adjustments to his green-gold embroidered black blazer and white blouse.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but your brother is home” Stephen popped his head into the bathroom where the best friends are, alerting them.

“Don’t mind me, guys! I’m just going to my room to grab my stuff and change!” Thor scurries off upstairs, his footsteps heavy on the woodworked floors.

A few moments later, Thor went down the stairs and is met in the living room by his parents, nodding at his chosen outfit. “You look sharp tonight, my boy.” His father said, nodding in approval at Thor’s cobalt blue blazer with a white blouse and slacks, taking in the entire outfit approvingly. “Thank you, father” Thor smiles briefly, eyes more focused on scanning the living room for his date. “Thor, you look wonderful tonight. I’m even happier with the fact that you’ve chosen one of my designs to wear for the dance” Frigga said, clasping her hands together. “But I doubt you’ll want to hear us babble on any longer. Your brother and friends are ready as well.”

Thor walked over to the outer areas of the living room where the couches are placed, and where his friends—and family, are seated. Loki didn’t even bother looking up, his focus much more trained on scrolling his social media—despite hearing his brother’s thunderous footsteps approaching.

“Hey, Thor. You look—you look really, _wow_ , fantastic—” Bruce stands up from the couch, immediately walking up to Thor; admiring his outfit and overall poise.

“I should be the one telling _you_ that,” Thor muttered, smiling at his date. “Your outfit could break _hearts_ —you look stunning tonight.” He smiles, kissing Bruce’s forehead.

“Yeah—I’m not going to do _that_ ” Stephen mumbles, still seated on the couch and just as busy with his phone when he noticed Thor’s approaching.

“Come on now, kids—let your old man take pictures of you with your dates!” Odin shifts to the living room with professional camera equipments and tripods in hand, with Frigga holding a digital camera alongside him.

“…Were your parents _always_ this extra?” Stephen whispered to Loki, who’s completely unfazed by his disbelief.

“You don’t even know the _half_ of it”

-

Using both Stephen and Loki’s car to drive them back to school, they arrived at the homecoming venue-turned gymnasium, now completely decorated with everything themed ‘happily ever after’, with a live band playing romantic songs, old and new. The disco ball at the center of it all reflects light right onto the dance floor, casting an almost too whimsical and fairytale-like atmosphere for the entire venue. Loki and Stephen linked their arms, nodding to each other as they entered the venue with an overflowing amount of confidence.

The dance floor isn’t the main event of the evening just yet—as of now, most attendants are still busy over at the refreshment tables. Thor and Bruce walked out of Loki’s car, and as they pass through the venue door, heads are turning—some are nodding at Thor’s choice of outfit, and some at Bruce’s.

“Let’s head to the refreshment table first, I’m _parched_ ” Bruce muttered, slightly loosening his bowtie out of nerves, and Thor follows suit.

“You’re alright?” Thor asks, offering his date a glass of fruit punch he scooped out with a giant ladle just now.

“Yeah, I’m just a bit nervous,” Bruce accepts the glass from Thor, their fingers brushing in between. “Usually, I always follow Loki _wherever_ he goes— _whenever_ these things happen” he sips the punch for a brief moment, and sets the glass down on the table as he smiles at Thor. “But he was right,” Bruce stands a little taller, gets a little closer to his date, their shoulders brushing. “This year _is_ different.”

Thor smiles at his date, his expressions soft. “I’m glad I decided against not going,” he said, face tilted to the side, facing Bruce. “I guess we both never really had a reason to go—until Loki practically _pushed_ us to”

Bruce laughs, leaning his head slightly against Thor’s shoulder. “Your brother is a good person.”

“I know”

Loki and Stephen are seen on the other side of the venue, mingling with several groups of people while laughing and clinking their glasses together.

“Odinson, I never knew you were a natural at chemistry,” Stephen raises his eyebrows, bewildered by his date’s tales and anecdotes.

“It’s recently becoming a subject I’m rather fond of” Loki sipped his punch, glancing at Thor and Bruce on the other side of the dance floor—shoulders touching and heads leaning to each other, comfortable in their own world.

“I’ll bet,” Stephen clinks his glass to Loki’s. “To homecoming”

“To homecoming,” Loki smiles, clinking back the glass. “And to my quest’s completion.” He whispers to himself, content.

The venue is starting to fill, more and more students and teachers arrived, some not even from the same school; letting loose and already starting to shake up the dance floor. Thor and Bruce are still comfortable sitting near the refreshment table, hands linked and heads still leaning against each other for quite some time, until Thor’s classmate Tony approached.

“Don’t you two look _cozy_ ,” Tony scoops a ladle of fruit punch to fill his glass, all the while paying attention to the pair next to the table. “So, is _this_ the thing you were so distracted about the other day?”

“Something like that,” Thor smiles at Tony briefly, not really paying his classmate any attention.

“Hey, Tony” Bruce calls him absentmindedly. “Who did you go with tonight?”

“Rhodey” Tony said, rubbing his temple as the name escapes his lips. “I stalled until the _very_ last moment and Rhodey is just, I don’t know, _there_ ” he continues. “So here we are”

“Glad it worked out for you, Stark” Thor smiles, visibly squeezing Bruce’s arm a little bit harder.

“Well, I’m not going to bother you _lovebirds_ any longer. _Cheers_ ” Tony raises his glass as he whisks away to the other side of the dance floor.

“Stark is an _interesting_ character. Did you know our house was built by his father?” Thor asks his date inquisitively, making a small talk.

“Yeah, Loki told me about that. We sometimes still find Stark-branded stuff left behind in the garage, though I’m not sure if they’d actually want it back”

“Alright, Bruce—I think it’s time for me to make my rounds,” Thor got up abruptly, offering Bruce a hand to stand up. Bruce takes it, but bewildered.

“Uh, sure, Thor. I’ll see you in a bit” Bruce muttered, a bit unsure of what to do. Thor pecks his cheek and immediately left for the dance floor to talk to some of his classmates.

 _‘Well, this is awkward,’_ Bruce thinks to himself, unsure of where to go as he rummages around the refreshment table for some edibles, he felt a tap on his shoulder not too long after.

“Hey, Bruce”

“Oh—Steve! I haven’t seen you in a while, how are you?” Bruce turns to see Steve Rogers, his classmate that’s been absent from school for almost a week due to influenza.

“I’ve been homesick— _and_ actually sick for quite some time, but this guy makes it all worth it” Steve sheepishly grins, holding up his hand that’s linked to an unfamiliar brunette-haired guy’s hand, and they both smiled at each other. “This is my date Bucky, he doesn’t actually go here—but Tony helped making sure this is possible” Steve beams, his hand still holding Bucky’s.

“Tony helped your date get _here_? From your previous school?” Bruce asked, very much amused by the veto power that Tony posses.

“Yeah, I guess he’s gotten sick of me saying—”

“ _Rumlow said ‘Bucky’, and suddenly I was a 16-year-old kid again in Brooklyn_ ,” Bucky recited Steve’s sentence, rolling his eyes but couldn’t help his own sheepish grin from escaping.

“Yeah, _that,_ ” Steve stifles a giddy laugh, his face flushed red.

“You guys seem so close,” Bruce muttered, “Are you guys ‘ _together’_ together, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Steve blushes, and Bucky only rolled his eyes at his date. “Well—we kind of—” Steve continues, but stops midsentence as Loki approaches with Stephen in tow.

“Hello, Rogers.” Stephen nods to Steve and his date. “And _James,_ I presume?”

“Bucky is fine”

“Bruce—I can’t help but notice your lack of my brother, where is he?” Loki leans in close to Bruce, practically whispering.

“Well—he said he was making his rounds, and I’m kind of distracted since I was talking to Steve for a while, so—” Bruce stops short as he felt a gentle pat on his shoulder.

“Hello guys, I’d like to borrow Bruce for a moment if you don’t mind,” Thor smiles to the group, his expressions seeming a little bit nervous.

“All yours” Loki winked at his brother, who visibly grew even more nervous thanks to that.

“Uh, excuse me guys, I’ll—I’ll see you later” Bruce groggily backed away from the group, unsure of what to make of this.

After getting far away from the earshot of the group, they are standing near the venue’s entrance, where the amount of new attendants had basically reduced to none. “Sorry about that, I had to talk to my friends about some unimportant stuff” Thor ruefully smiles at Bruce.

“Oh, that’s okay, really—I was just talking to Steve for a while,” Bruce responded, groggy and curious about his date’s situation. “But what’s wrong? You seemed a little distracted. Did something happen? Did you strike _another_ deal with Loki again?”

“No, it’s—not that, not right _now_ , anyway” Thor replies, trying to shake off his jitters. He then turns to Bruce, face alight with a glint of determination in his eyes.

“I was just wondering—there’s still some time before the big dance later tonight, so _maybe_ —would you want to sneak away with me— _away_ from the party? I know a place that has a great view for uh, _stargazing_ ” he continues, face growing a few shades darker by the second.

“Oh—sure, Thor, I mean… it’s not like I was doing anything back there anyway” Bruce replies, groggy and taken aback by the sudden invitation.

“Wonderful. Let’s go, then” Thor smiles, hand guiding his date to the parking lot and away from all the festivities.

-

“Where are we going, exactly?” Bruce asks his date, sitting shotgun next to the driver.

“It’s not too far from school, we’ll get there soon” Thor answered, eyes never leaving the road. The pounding of his chest felt so loud, that it could almost be mistaken for the car’s sound system.

Shortly after, they arrived at the city’s cliff observatory. Thor parks the car overlooking the city, beneath the starry sky. Thor draws in a deep breath, and he turns to Bruce.

“Well, here we are,” he said, voice ragged. “This is a special place for me. I used to drive here when I—when Jane and I…” he frazzled, his voice cracking. “When we were still together”

Bruce is quiet for a while. “Uh, I mean,” he hesitates, “Then why bring me here?”

“ _Because_ ,” Thor muttered. “That relationship was kind of a crash and burn.”

“We kind of grew apart, and it just doesn’t work out anymore. And that ‘mutual dumping’ happening the night of the homecoming dance back in sophomore year really hit me _hard_ , Bruce—I might be dramatic, but I really couldn’t look at homecoming—or _relationships_ , the same way again,” Thor sighs, dejected on his seat—looking up to the sky through the car window briefly, before turning back to Bruce; his eyes alight with determination.

“But Bruce, hanging out with you—it’s gotten me to change how I see a lot of things; _especially_ about relationships” he said, “Being with you has been nothing short of magical. I don’t know where this will take us, but I am looking forward to whatever the future has in store for us.” Thor asks for Bruce’s hand in between the seats, and he held it.

“Thor, I… thank you for telling me this, _and_ for bringing me here. It must be hard for you to open up about this, and I really appreciate it,” Bruce smiles at his date, squeezing his hands reassuringly. “If I were to be perfectly honest—I’ve had a crush on you ever since you transferred here,” he continues, cheeks reddening. “And these past few weeks has been—as you said, _magical_. I’m happy. Thank you, even if it took Loki’s intervention to get here, I’m still really happy about where we are.”

“Ever—Ever since I _transferred_? Bruce, that was so _long_ ago!” Thor creases his eyebrows in regret. “I am sorry, Bruce. I’ve been insensitive to your feelings for so long”

Bruce smiles. “It’s okay—we’re here _now_ , and that’s all that matters,” he muttered, unbuckling his seatbelt as he moves to Thor’s side of the car, straddling him.

“Bruce, I—” Thor looked up at Bruce, stopping himself when Bruce closes the distance between them, pressing his lips against Thor’s, kissing him hard while cupping Thor’s cheeks with his hands. Thor kisses back just as hard, wrapping Bruce’s hips in his arms, sinking further into the deep embrace. The stars are bright and the city lights are twinkling—but none can compare to the shimmer of affection in their eyes as they sink deeper into the embrace, kissing fervently and passionately; all the way into the night.

-

“ _Where_ have you been?” Loki tilts his head questioningly to his brother and his best friend, noticing their absence from the venue for around 20 minutes—only to return with how frazzled and disoriented their outfits has become. Catching on at last, Loki’s confusion transitions into a grin. “ _Oh_. I see.”

Thor and Bruce ignores him, smiling to themselves without a care in the world. “I’d love to stay and chat, brother—but the big dance is coming up” Thor winks, leaving his brother at the entrance, _bewildered_.

“See you on the dance floor, Loki” Bruce smiles, also leaving his best friend for the dance floor.

“ _Huh_ …” Loki raises his eyebrows inquisitively. “Looks like I’ve got more than I bargained for,” he smiles to himself, content. “Well done, Loki”

Soon, the main dance of the evening is in full swing. All the students are filling the dance floor, moving and grooving and jiving to the beat, although some subtler than the others. The music transitions into a slow dance, and everyone starts partnering up.

“May I?” Stephen asks for Loki’s hand, to which he raised an eyebrow. “Just another one of the perks of going with me to the homecoming” he continues, sporting his signature side smirk.

“I thought you’d never ask” Loki grins, taking his date’s hand, shoulders brushing periodically as they danced.

On the other end of the dance floor, Steve asks for Bucky’s hands. “Shall we?” he asks, grinning, as if it’s the first time they’ve ever danced.

“You’re a punk,” Bucky takes his hand, rolling his eyes but grins from ear to ear.

“Tony, you’re insufferable,” Rhodey muttered, taking Tony’s hand to dance, at first unwilling.

“Can you blame me?” Tony smirks as they both glide effortlessly throughout the dance.

In the center of the dance floor, Thor and Bruce is slowly getting into the transition to slow dancing. Bruce smiles softly, offering his date a hand. “May we?”

Thor smiles back, grinning from ear to ear. “You had me at hello” he takes Bruce’s hand, dancing to the slow but steady beat. Their shoulders are brushing, Thor’s free hand on Bruce’s hip while Bruce’s is on his shoulder.

“You can come closer, you know” Bruce coyly smiles.

“I was getting to that,” Thor stifles a laugh, but fulfilled his date’s demand. Their bodies are so close, their heartbeats uncontrollably pounding as their bodies are pressed together, it’s electric.

Their foreheads are soon touching, hips still swaying to the beat, but the world around them completely disappears.

“Can I get another kiss?” Bruce whispers, their breathing hot as their noses touch. Thor leans in to close the distance between them and kisses Bruce on the lips, lingering and sweet. Bruce returns the kiss with a matching intensity _. ‘This is perfect.’_

Not too long after, they pulled apart from the kiss, their hands stayed where they were before, unflinching. “You know, homecoming isn’t so bad after all” Bruce muttered under his breath; with the volume only Thor can hear beneath the slow music belting in the air.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Thor smiles, dancing their way through the night.

-

It was the perfect end to this perfect night, with no words left unsaid and no confessions left undone. The future isn’t so bleak—now that the truth has set them free. No matter what the future has in store for them, they got a feeling that everything will work out in the end. And that’s all they ever needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and fin. Thank you so much for reading and giving feedback and giving this work some kudos, I appreciate every single one of them! This has been quite a journey and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, thank you so so much and see you again soon!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you like it. Thor and Bruce is an ultimate power couple and the definition of soft, I stan.
> 
> Also the ending is semi-loosely based on a visual novel game I have been pining for AGES so if you're also playing then hmu I'd love to chat and enthuse about it!


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